Lighting device for a vehicle

Abstract

Lighting devices for vehicles, e.g., headlamps or tail lamps, are provided. A refractive diffuser (50) allows the provision of substantially any lighting signature for the lighting device, yielding great freedoms in terms of design.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A lighting device for a vehicle, comprising:
 a light source and 
 a refractive diffuser for generating a lighting signature on the basis of light from the light source, wherein the lighting signature is a geometrically defined lighting distribution as perceived by an observer viewing the lighting device from a far-field perspective; 
 wherein the refractive diffuser is configured to generate the lighting signature with an inhomogeneous intensity distribution; and 
 wherein the lighting device is embodied as a tail lamp or as a headlamp of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       2. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the refractive diffuser is a refractive diffuser with achromatic properties. 
     
     
       3. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 1 , when the light source comprises at least one of a light-emitting diode or a laser diode. 
     
     
       4. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the lighting signature comprises at least one of a rectangular form, a cruciform form or a boomerang-shaped form. 
     
     
       5. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the lighting device includes a plurality of reflective surfaces internal to the lighting device that are configured to reflect light from the light source into the refractive diffuser at different angles, thereby resulting in the lighting signature changing as a function of a viewing direction of the observer. 
     
     
       6. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising at least one mirror for deflecting light from the light source into the refractive diffuser. 
     
     
       7. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the refractive diffuser and a mirror of the at least one mirror are embodied in integral fashion as one component. 
     
     
       8. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the mirror comprises a first mirror and a partly reflective second mirror, which are arranged in such a way that they produce a plurality of partial light beams and steer these to the refractive diffuser. 
     
     
       9. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the refractive diffuser is configured to produce the lighting signature as a virtual image, as perceived by the observer, where the virtual image lies in a plane of the light source in a plane between the light source and the refractive diffuser. 
     
     
       10. The lighting device as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the at least one mirror comprises a concave mirror for focusing light from the light source into the refractive diffuser.